Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, , has accused President William Ruto’s administration of deliberately crippling Mt. Kenya’s economic lifelines in a bid to punish the region politically.
Speaking during a charged diaspora forum in Worcester, Massachusetts, Gachagua claimed that the collapse of Mt. Kenya’s traditional economic pillars — coffee, tea, and tourism — is not coincidental, but part of what he termed a calculated political war against a region that overwhelmingly voted for Ruto in 2022.
“What is happening to our coffee, our tea, and tourism is not by accident. It is a political strategy to weaken Mt. Kenya economically — so we have no bargaining power come 2027,” Gachagua said.
“This government is sabotaging the region both politically and financially.”
Gachagua’s sharp rebuke comes months after his impeachment on October 17, 2024, where the Senate found him guilty on multiple charges including ethnic mobilization, insubordination, and abuse of office.
Since then, the DCP party leader and who was also former Mathira MP has rebranded himself as the voice of a betrayed Mt. Kenya region — turning his U.S. diaspora tour into a political offensive against the Ruto-Mudavadi axis of the Kenya Kwanza administration.
“I helped build this house. I know where the cracks are,” he told the crowd. “And today I’m telling you — Mt. Kenya is under siege, not from the opposition, but from the very government we helped form.”
Gachagua also used the platform to laud the Kenyan diaspora for keeping the economy afloat.
“As we speak today, coffee, tea, and tourism have been overtaken. The highest foreign exchange earner for our country is remittances from Kenyans abroad,” he said.
“Without you, our economy would be dead.”
The former Deputy President urged the government to formally partner with diaspora investors instead of using them for optics.
The tour has not been without controversy. Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi accused Gachagua of “exporting tribalism” by addressing diaspora forums in his Kikuyu dialect — a claim Gachagua dismissed with characteristic sarcasm:
“Wewe, enda tafuta bibi yako ucheze naye!”
(You, go find your wife and play with her!)
The statement, though informal, went viral — seen by Gachagua’s supporters as a sign of a fearless leader, and by critics as evidence of his abrasive, populist style.
Gachagua’s message resonates with growing discontent among Mt. Kenya voters, many of whom feel shortchanged by the Kenya Kwanza administration.
Observers say his U.S. tour — including engagements in Boston, Worcester, and Seattle — is a calculated move to rebuild a base among diaspora Kenyans and position himself as a defender of the mountain in the lead-up to the 2027 elections.
Whether that momentum translates into political re-entry remains uncertain — but one thing is clear: Rigathi Gachagua is not done.
